Ayurveda, Spirituality and Healing examines the changes undergone by the South Asian health-care tradition, Ayurveda, as a result of its assimilation into the Western holistic health milieu over the last four decades. It explores the ways in which the mind-body-spirit sector in the West, with its focus on seekership, spirituality, and self-empowerment through self-understanding, shapes Ayurveda'e(tm)s interpretation, promotion and practice in modern transnational Anglophone contexts. As with other Eastern traditions that have gained popularity in the West in recent times, 'e~globalised'e(tm) Ayurveda has generated a host of competing discourses on what constitutes 'e~authentic'e(tm) tradition, and whether Western forms of this tradition can be considered legitimate. This book makes a unique contribution to the scholarship on the subject by arguing that the new forms of Ayurveda in the Western holistic health milieu must be taken seriously, not dismissed as 'e~inauthentic'e(tm), or measured against traditional South Asian forms of Ayurveda. These new manifestations reflect the particular concerns of 'e~alternative'e(tm) health practitioners in late-capitalist contexts in the West, who draw upon this tradition in creative and expedient ways to address the perceived needs of their times.
Ayurveda, Spirituality and Well-Being : The Globalisation of an Ancient Health Tradition